Super Sales on Super Heroes

In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a super villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant

Timid, socially awkward, and plagued by self-esteem issues, Fred has never been the adventurous sort. One fateful night - different from the night he died, which was more inconvenient than fateful - Fred reconnects with an old friend at his high school reunion. This rekindled relationship sets off a chain of events thrusting him right into the chaos of the parahuman world.

Off to Be the Wizard

It's a simple story. Boy finds proof that reality is a computer program. Boy uses program to manipulate time and space. Boy gets in trouble. Boy flees back in time to Medieval England to live as a wizard while he tries to think of a way to fix things. Boy gets in more trouble. Oh, and boy meets girl at some point.

NPCs

What happens when the haggling is done and the shops are closed? When the quest has been given, the steeds saddled, and the adventurers are off to their next encounter? They keep the world running, the food cooked, and the horses shoed, yet what adventurer has ever spared a thought or concern for the Non-Player Characters? In the town of Maplebark, four such NPCs settle in for a night of actively ignoring the adventurers drinking in the tavern when things go quickly and fatally awry.

Super Powereds: Year 1: Super Powereds, Book 1

Knowledge is power. That would be the motto of Lander University, had it not been snatched up and used to death by others long before the school was founded. For while Lander offers a full range of courses to nearly all students, it also offers a small number of specialty classes to a very select few. Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, a curriculum designed to develop students with superhuman capabilities, commonly known as Supers, into official Heroes.

Forging Hephaestus: Villains' Code Series, Book 1

Gifted with meta-human powers, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she's captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she's offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated. Apprenticed to one of the world's most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem.

Critical Failures: Caverns and Creatures, Book 1

Tim and his friends find out the hard way that you shouldn't question the game master, and you shouldn't make fun of his cape. One minute, they're drinking away the dreariness of their lives, escaping into a fantasy game and laughing their asses off. The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them.

Monster Hunter International

Five days after Owen Zastava Pitt pushed his insufferable boss out of a 14th story window, he woke up in the hospital with a scarred face, an unbelievable memory, and a job offer. It turns out that monsters are real. All the things from myth, legend, and B-movies are out there, waiting in the shadows. Some of them are evil, and some are just hungry. Monster Hunter International is the premier eradication company in the business. And now Owen is their newest recruit.

Bill the Vampire, Scary Dead Things, The Mourning Woods, and Holier Than Thou: The Tome of Bill Series: Books 1-4

There are reasons we fear the dark. Bill Ryder...isn't one of them. Gamer, geek, and legendary vampire - The Tome of Bill is the tale of an unlikely hero trying to survive in a world of undead horrors. Despite awesome supernatural powers, loyal allies, and an attitude the size of Brooklyn, the odds are still stacked heavily against him. Bill Ryder must fulfill his destiny and save the world from the ancient terrors that threaten it - all while trying to work up the nerve to ask out the girl of his dreams.

Dungeon Born: Divine Dungeon Series, Book 1

For eons, conquering dungeons has been the most efficient way to become a strong adventurer. Although not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Several questions have always plagued the minds of those who enter these mythical places of power: why are there so many monsters? Where do the amazing weaponry and heavy gold coins come from? Why does the very air fill with life-giving energies? Cal has all of the answers to these age-old questions, for a very simple reason. He is a Dungeon Heart.

Run Program

What's worse than a child with a magnifying glass, a garden full of ants, and a brilliant mind full of mischief? Try Al, a well-meaning but impish artificial intelligence with the mind of a six-year-old and a penchant for tantrums. Hope Takeda, a lab assistant charged with educating and socializing Al, soon discovers that day care is a lot more difficult when your kid is an evolving and easily frightened A.I.

Awaken Online: Catharsis

Jason logs into Awaken Online fed-up with reality. He's in desperate need of an escape, and this game is his ticket to finally feeling the type of power and freedom that are so sorely lacking in his real life. Awaken Online is a brand new virtual reality game that just hit the market, promising an unprecedented level of immersion. Yet Jason quickly finds himself pushed down a path he didn't expect. In this game, he isn't the hero. There are no damsels to save. There are no bad guys to vanquish.

Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy

Hank is a thug. He knows he's a thug. He has no problem with that realization. In his view the galaxy has given him a gift: a mutation that allows him to withstand great deals of physical trauma. He puts his abilities to the best use possible and that isn't by being a scientist. Besides, the space station Belvaille doesn't need scientists. It is not, generally, a thinking person's locale. It is the remotest habitation in the entire Colmarian Confederation. There is literally no reason to be there.

We Are Legion (We Are Bob): Bobiverse, Book 1

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets.

Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

Henry and Jason led normal lives in Seattle before they were abducted to another world. Their kidnapper, the vain, self-styled god Dolos, refuses to send them back unless they can accomplish an impossible task. Oddly, Dolos doesn't seem to care if they succeed or not. Luckily, Henry and Jason studied Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) on Earth. Unfortunately, a Japanese American EMT and a geeky IT programmer don't have many other useful skills on a sword-and-sorcery world like Ludus.

The Dark Lord's Handbook

To become a Dark Lord is no easy thing. The simple ambition to hold dominion over the world and bend all to your will sounds straightforward, but it's not. There are armies to raise, fortresses to build, heroes to defeat, and battles to be fought. After many spectacular failures, Evil decided to lend more than inspiration to these would-be tyrants. He wrote an easy-to-follow Dark Lord's Handbook. And yet the next Dark Lord that came along screwed up like all the others.

The Authorities

Sinclair Rutherford is a young Seattle cop with a taste for the finer things. Doing menial tasks and getting hassled by superiors he doesn't respect are definitely not "finer things". Good police work and bad luck lead him to crack a case that changes quickly from a career-making break into a high-profile humiliation when footage of his pursuit of the suspect - wildly inappropriate murder weapon in hand - becomes an Internet sensation.

Will Save the Galaxy for Food

Space travel just isn't what it used to be. With the invention of Quantum Teleportation, space heroes aren't needed anymore. When one particularly unlucky ex-adventurer masquerades as famous pilot and hate figure Jacques McKeown, he's sucked into an ever-deepening corporate and political intrigue. Between space pirates, adorable deadly creatures, and a missing fortune in royalties, saving the universe was never this difficult!

Soulstone: Awakening: A LitRPG Novel: World of Ruul, Volume 1

Aaron Hope plays video games, like a lot, just not professionally. When he entered the EpiX! Games! PVP World Championship on a lark, this college senior never expected to make it to the final round, nor to get drugged and shoved into the alpha test for World of Ruul. The premise for this virtual reality MMO is simple. Find all eight treasures scattered throughout the world before the maelstrom's forces devour everything in sight. The only catch? You can't log off, and if you die...well, let's just say what happens in the game doesn't stay in the game.

Survival Quest: Way of the Shaman Series # 1

Barliona: a virtual world jam-packed with monsters, battles - and, predictably, players. Millions of them come to Barliona, looking forward to the things they can't get in real life: elves and magic, dragons and princesses, and unforgettable combat. The game has become so popular that players now choose to spend months online without returning home. In Barliona, anything goes: You can assault fellow players, level up, become a mythical hero, a wizard, or a legendary thief.

Eden's Gate: The Reborn: A LitRPG Adventure, Book 1

When Gunnar Long is transported into the first fully-immersive virtual MMORPG, he finds himself in a new world filled with magic, mystery, and adventure. No more 9-to-5 job. No more studio apartment. No more reality TV. Finally, he's in a place where he can call home, a place with people he can call friends. But as more people want to trade their real world lives to get inside Eden's Gate, the government of the outside world wants the "game" shut down at all costs.

AlterWorld: Play to Live, Book 1

A new pandemic - the perma effect - has taken over Earth of the near future. Whenever you play your favorite online game, beware: your mind might merge with the virtual world and dump its comatose host. Woe be to those stuck forever in Tetris! But some unfortunates - the handicapped and the terminally ill, shell-shocked army vets, wronged crime victims and other society misfits - choose to flee real life willingly, escaping to the limitless world of online sword and sorcery MMORPGs.

The Builder's Sword: The Legendary Builder, Book 1

Arthur Curie never expected to wind up in Hell. At least, not because he found an ancient sword in a pawnshop. To make matters worse, Hell isn't as he thought. It's a desolate wasteland under siege by an all-consuming void known as the Darkness.

Publisher's Summary

Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy. But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city? Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.

The combination of a great story with a brilliant narrator made this really worth recommending, as there are so few genuinely funny fantasy books for geeks. While not quite up there with the greats like Terry Pratchett this is fun with just enough darkness to draw you into the plot. Fun with numerous comic book and film references to make you laugh. While it's not a literary game changer, the fact that it doesn't try too hard is part of it's charm. Despite my concerns when reading the description, it's actually one that should appeal to both male and female listeners. I would have liked it to be longer but I'll definitely be buying the rest of the series. Probably not for those who only get through one book a month as there are probably enough 5 star books to keep you busy but for those of us who are frequent listeners, know far too much about comic book law and 80's movies, i'd give this a try.

What made the experience of listening to The Rules of Supervillainy the most enjoyable?

Jeffery Kafer does a really good job of performing a snarky super villain.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The world is a bit confusing, at times I didn't know what to make of it, supers (both good and bad) seem to run roughshod over national government. At times there are floods of exposition, and then things are causally tossed in and then not mentioned again (such as Atlantis). Gary Karkofsky (aka Merciless) is a very odd character, at times he is extremely moral (he is outraged when some anti-heroes cause collateral damage to get to him), but feels no remorse when he casually murders someone who gets in his way; he hates authority and has somewhat anarchist/socialist view points, but at the same time wants to rule the world and get rich, the character doesn't seem to make a lot of sense (at least to me)

Which scene did you most enjoy?

No one scene particularly stood out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was decent enough that I could have done, had my schedule allowed for it.

Any additional comments?

Other books have covered the same ground, and done so better (D-list supervillain series, for example), but it not a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination.

At times laugh out loud listen. The story of the world's newest Super Crook, Gary aka Merciless. Fun, exciting and at times poignant. The story falls in two parts, the first his 'rise' as he takes to a life of crime, the second his 'fall' as he is incarcerated and seeks escape. Perhaps stronger in the narrative as his rise is set out, the book sets the scene for hopefully more adventures. I would definitely get more of this author.

This novel does a masterful job of giving its protagonist (and audience) a tour of comic book superheroes. It feels like a series of set pieces, each of which showcases a different classic comic book scenario, but tied together by the supremely likeable main character and his long suffering magic cloak. Whether he's robbing a bank or rescuing hostages, Merciless (the supervillain without mercy) is a delight to read/listen to.

Fantastic listen. Great narration of an unusual take on the genre. Unfair to compare to Pratchett but a dark cynical and funny look at the super hero world. Enough to keep the geeks happy and not to much to put a first timer off! Looking forward to the rest of the series!

Definitely like the interaction between all of the different characters, some great sense of humour the start of the book getting slightly darker as it moves through, I have already downloaded the next two books and I hope they are as good as the first

This superhero/supervillain novel turned out to be just the sort of fun romp it promised from its synopsis.

Gary Karkofsky is just a normal guy living in a world filled with all sorts of people with superpowers. He lives with his wife in the suburbs and used to work as a bank teller before he lost his job. Opportunity knocks for Gary when the magical cloak of his home towns greatest superhero gets delivered to him in the mail. Rather than take up the selfless mantle of the heroic Nightwalker Gary instead decides to indulge in his life long dream of becoming Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy!

The whole story was as crazy and as fun as it sounds. Gary was an easy to root for guy. He loved his wife, cared for his friends, and was not quite as evil as he wished he was. Though he did have his villainous moments!

The world was pretty fun. It was the sort of over the top type of superhero world that you get while watching a movie like Marvel's Avengers. Which is great. This actually had a similar tone to the Avengers movies with plenty of humor and crazy action mixed in with likeable characters who were never short of a witty bit of banter.

The only real flaw I can spot is that this was such a short story. With the open ending I hope we do not have to wait long for the sequel.

Jeffrey Kafer did a fantastic job with the narration. He really got the tone of the story and has the perfect sort of voice for narration.

I'm a huge fan of the Dresden Files and Bill the Vampire. This series is starting off in the same irreverent, hilarious tone. The nerdy, yet loveable, hero (well, supervillain), the quirky sidekicks... my son and I listened to the first 2 hours of this on Sunday afternoon in the car. We both resumed on our personal devices as soon as I stopped the car. It's now Tuesday, and he's asked me to purchase the next book! This is huge! Phipps is a new to me author, but quickly becoming a favorite. Kafer does a great job with the audio, his voices are all perfect, and the sound quality is excellent.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Rain

14/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Amazing - Get it!"

This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read/listened to in my entire life, and I have read a lot of books. The cover and blurb did not catch my attention. I passed over it the first time I saw it, but a friend mentioned it, so I listened to the audiobook. Within a few minutes, I downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited to enjoy it twice. I will reread and re-listen to it many, many times.

The humor is very unique and exactly in my taste. I could not ask for anything better than this book. The plot is very silly, but the humor is threaded into it brilliantly. If this author had a hundred books like these, I would buy a new bookshelf and fill it with them. I have never gushed over a book before, except for one book series that is still my favorite. My friends can't get me to shut up. I can't believe I almost missed out on this treasure.

I want to include quotes from the book, but I'll leave the surprise for the readers/listeners.

The narrator did this book justice. He brought an amazing book to life. I loved the performance and his dry tone was perfect for Gary. I did have some trouble confusing Gary with the cloak's voices, but it wasn't distracting.

Overall, Jeffrey Kafer did a great job and I would be happy to listen to more audiobooks by him. C.T. Phipps did an absolutely amazing, fantastic, exceptional, brilliant job and I WILL read anything he publishes. I want the second book in this series yesterday.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

31 of 39 people found this review helpful

Jenn

USA

07/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Use My Powers for Wha???"

Thank you so much for sharing this precautionary tale. Since obtaining my powers I've had quite a lot of peer pressure to use them for good. I attribute some of this to the fact that I still haven't officially "come out of the lair." But I also may have been a bit hasty in choosing my first sidekick. You see, I believed I would be able to use my villainess wiles to seduce my young apprentice to the benefits of working on the dark side. But so far all attempts to overpower his goody two shoe conscience, whom he refers to as "Mod" (morals on duty,) have failed miserably. Until listening to this supervillainy rules guide, I had begun to question my decisions. And I now believe I was actually under some sort of Mod mind control!! Never fear, I have now designed my own hat, which blocks any attempt to access my brain or thought patterns. It's perfectly stylish but will cause sudden death to any trespasser. And I am continuing forward in my studies to be the next criminal mastermind of the South. I look forward to the next lesson and eagerly await its arrival. Until then...Supervillains Unite!

~Miss Hospitality

33 of 42 people found this review helpful

chad

08/02/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Liked it, but..."

The narrator was a little too flat for me. It's a comedy. Should have got a little more animated.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Tara Ellis

Skagit County, WA

04/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A Prime Example of A Professional Audiobook!"

I read the book, and enjoyed it enough to also listen to the audiobook. When I saw that Kafer was the narrator, I knew I couldn't go wrong. I was NOT disappointed. A well-written book, it is further translated into an even greater experience by a flawless narration. I highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to Charles Phipps next book!

14 of 18 people found this review helpful

Steve H. Caldwell

Tacoma, WA

20/03/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Turns metahuman tropes on their head!"

In which Gary Karkofsky receives the intelligent magic cloak of Falcon Crest City's greatest superhero, The Nightwalker, in the mail, and decides screw being a hero, I'm becoming a supervillain and getting rich! So starts Rules of Supervillainy, as Gary, an unemployed bank clerk, embarks on a hillarious path to crime as Merciless, The Villain Without Mercy™. Thats right, they even reference the Trademark. That is the kind of humor strewn throughout the book. As Gary struggles to become the villain he want to be, he does pull off some impressive heists and other villainy. Along the way, he picks up a henchwench...err, henchperson (don't be sexist, Gary), in the person of Red Riding Hood (think a more stable Harley Quinn) and a henchman in El Diablo, a one time A-lister down on his luck, but looking for another chance at the big leages. As they grow Gary's criminal career, Gary must deal with his wife, who is not inclined to villains, and the need to use his powers, which are required tobe used, since this keeps the dead from rising, since his cloak is one of the Grim Reapers cloaks. Along the line he gets the wrong kind of attention and gets arrested by UltraGod, the worlds greatest superhero. After being brought to the moon and tried and imprisoned, Gary becomes part of a plan to escape hatched by a megamaniacal villain bent on world conquest. Along the way, he runs into Some other old friends and aquaintences, and ends up fighting a couple of Jewish demigods (not an easy thing for a jewish guy like Gary) When he returns to earth, things are much changed, and Gary will have to deal with a very different Falcon Crest City. Will he continue on his quest to be the big villain, or will his better side win out? Only one way to find out, and thats to take a listen!The characters are a real strength of this book. From Gary and his obsessive need to be a great villain, Red's need to just be amoral and crazy, El Diablo's need to be useful and relevant again and all the other myriad characters interacting with them in such funny ways make for great characters. Even the personality of the cloak is hilarious and snarky, all while helping Gary. The characters are well rounded, even the crazy ones, and the dialogue is just superb. Falcon Crest City is a great setting, well described and sounding like a place you wouldnt want to visit on a vacation, unless getting held hostage by a supervillain is your idea of a good time. The pacing is great, with never a slow scene. As far as narration, what can I say other than Jeffrey Kafer hits another one out of the park! Great voice work for each character, especially Red Riding Hood, my personal favorite of his many voices. He never lets the story lag, keeping even pacing throughout. This is some of his best work, in my oipinion. All in all, a five star effort all around. If you are big into comics or metahuman stories,this is a must have!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Cheri

Waverly Hall, Ga.

09/04/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Awesome Story ~ Worth All Five Stars!"

Everyone needs a good laugh and The Rules of Supervillainy is full of them! I could easily listen it to again and again. (I actually started off reading it but the story had me smiling and laughing out loud, I had to go ahead and download the audio version.)

It was creative, funny, and full of interesting superheros and supervillains. I especially like Merciless. He really wants to be supervillain, who is out for himself but his actions and choices contradict the image he is going for. Between Merciless and his "cloak," I had a great time listening to the story and laughed all the way through it. I will definitely be listening to the next book!

If you like stories that aren't serious, have crazy characters, and will give you a good laugh, this story will not disappoint!

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Christopher S. Jones

Atlanta, GA USA

22/07/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"I'm hooked"

fantastic story, way to get through. way cool characters and a brilliant combination of snarky and charming.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

john

biloxi, ms United States

14/07/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"great entertainment! !!!"

five starsa wild ride and great fun though wish it has more distinct voices for characters

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Anonymous

28/06/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great book "

Chapters were pretty quick and feel like he could have expanded a little more. But the story was great. Several times caused me to actually laugh. The conversations between him and cloak are the best lol

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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